Sunday, November 05, 2006
Laugh, at any cost?
I saw the movie Borat today. I'm not a big fan of sex humor, so I didn't enjoy the movie in general. But aside from that, I found it extremely unfair. Not all the people in the world are as privileged as say Americans. Many developing countries are still struggling with basic socio-economic problems and are far behind their path to catch up with the developed world standards. Yes, there are cultural differences. Somethings that we laugh at are quite normal in those countries, but so are we, and our customs in their view. I believe it is immoral to exploit these differences to laugh at a nation.
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4 comments:
yup which is why i am boycotting this movie :-) my question to you is: why did you go to it? by giving it money, you supported it :-(
I don't think by any means the audience of the movie laughs at the Kazakhstani culture. It is very evident that those rituals and culture that Borat is talking about are too eccentric to be true. An audience should be very naive and sluggish in thought to think that Borat is really representing the culture of Kazakhstan. What Borat is making fun of is the American culture or the thought process of western people for that matter. People who don't touch on some of the taboos because they have never personally thought about them with a critical approach.
Yes, Borat seems very sexist, but one should not ignore that he touches on homophobia and many other issues as well (lets not take his sexist comments out of context). The extent that American men go through to prove to everyone that they are not gay is humorous (e.g. increasing the number of their sexual partners or keeping larger social zones once it comes to two men's interaction). So in short when it comes down to it I can only envision myself in Borat's targets' shoes and examine my own reaction if he was to punk me. Then I end up laughing at myself, and yes it is sad.
(I would very much like to know your opinion regarding what I wrote here, Thanks)
The film is eccentric, no doubt. But the catch is here: How much does a typical person in an English speaking country know about Kazakhstan and its culture? Almost nothing.
What will happen after he watches this movie? Would he care to research on Kazakhstan's culture? I don't think so. (At least I didn't) But he will most probably remember the name "Kazakhstan".
It 's comedy for heaven sake...p.s.how you doin? :)
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